Babar's century drought grows longer; SA end a long wait
Stats highlights from the second Test between Pakistan and South Africa in Rawalpindi
Shubham Agarwal
23-Oct-2025
Babar Azam scored a fifty in Rawalpindi, but his century drought continues • AFP/Getty Images
South Africa drew the two-Test series in Pakistan by winning the second Test in Rawalpindi. Here are the stats highlights from their eight-wicket victory:
3 - Number of Test wins for South Africa in Pakistan. Their previous two wins came in Faisalabad in 1997 and in Karachi in 2007. Since then, South Africa had lost three Tests in Pakistan.
1 - Instance of two South Africa spinners taking five-wicket hauls in the same Test. Keshav Maharaj dismantled Pakistan in the first innings with 7 for 102. Simon Harmer then took 6 for 50 in the second innings, his best figures in Test cricket.
7 for 102 - Maharaj's first-innings figures are the best by a South Africa bowler in Pakistan. Left-arm wristspinner Paul Adams had the record with 7 for 128 in the Lahore Test in 2003. It is also the second-best figures by a South African spinner in Asia. Maharaj also holds the top spot with his 9 for 129 against Sri Lanka in Colombo in 2018.
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4 - Number of South African bowlers to complete 1000 wickets in first-class cricket. Harmer reached the milestone in the second innings in Rawalpindi when he dismissed Noman Ali. Only Mike Procter (1417), Allan Donald (1216) and Charlie Llewellyn (1003) have more first-class wickets among South African bowlers.
38 years and 299 days - Asif Afridi's age at the start of the second Test, making him the oldest debutant to take a five-wicket haul. England's Charles Marriott was 37 years and 332 days old when he picked up 5 for 37 on debut against West Indies in 1933.
3 - Maharaj, Asif and Harmer picked up five-wicket hauls in Rawalpindi; it was the first time that three bowlers over the age of 35 took five-wicket hauls in a Test.
35 - Number of wickets picked up by South Africa's spinners in the two Tests, the most in a series for them in the 21st century. South Africa's spinners took 17 wickets in Rawalpindi, the second most for them in a Test.
71 - Kagiso Rabada's score is the highest by a South African No. 11. It was also his maiden first-class fifty.
15.2 - The difference in batting average for Pakistan between their first and second innings in Test cricket since 2023. They average 34.49 in the first innings and only 19.29 in the second. The difference is the highest among all Test nations in this period.
786 - Number of days without an international hundred for Babar Azam. His last century came against Nepal in the 2023 Asia Cup.
Babar has now gone 75 innings without an international ton. Among Pakistan batters to bat in top four, only Kamran Akmal (76 innings) and Mohammad Rizwan (82) have had a longer streak without a hundred in international cricket.
Shubham Agarwal is a senior stats analyst at ESPNcricinfo